189 cells commissioned at Borallon Training and Correctional Centre

Corrective Services Minister Mark Ryan visited the Borallon Training and Correctional Centre to commission 189 cells.

Minister Ryan said the 189 cells were capable of accommodating 349 prisoners bringing the total available capacity to 736 prisoners.

“The expansion of the centre provides long term benefits for custodial officers and prisoners,” Minister Ryan said.

“The centre provides prisoners with meaningful skills to increase their employment prospects and to assist in preventing them from reoffending.

“As at 19 June 2018, nearly half of the 387 prisoners were employed at the centre.”

The Borallon Training and Correctional Centre is a world leader in prison industries, and provides a range of rehabilitation programs and activities aimed at addressing the underlying causes of offending.

Ipswich West MP Jim Madden said the centre had developed partnerships with TAFE Queensland South West to develop vocational training, with on-site campus, teachers and IT facilities.

“Programs at the centre include mental health services, psychological interventions and support to assist with transition to the community,” he said.

“Borallon’s strong focus on vocational training provides prisoners with the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and successfully re-enter society when they are released,” Mr Madden said.

Media representatives were given a unique opportunity to experience prison life to further their understanding of the work Queensland Corrective Service’s officers do to keep Queensland safer.

Queensland Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Martin said the media representatives were transported to Borallon Training and Correctional Centre by the Escort and Security Branch before being processed into the centre and issued with prison uniforms.

“Our officers work in challenging conditions and often their job is a thankless one but they are key in rehabilitating the lives of those in our centres – one better understood by those who attended the experience today.

“I commend our officers for their professionalism and commitment to keeping our communities safe, and I thank those attendees for taking part today.”

Southern Queensland Correctional Centre conversion to a women’s prison

Minister Ryan also announced the decision to turn the Southern Queensland Correctional Centre (SQCC) into a womens’ prison.

The centre was originally designed for that purpose but was subsequently used as a mens’ prison.

This change will help ease capacity problems in Queensland’s female prison system.

As the Borallon cells come online, the men presently incarcerated at SQCC will be moved there and to other prisons.

Once SQCC is empty minor works will be undertaken to convert it to a female facility. Women prisoners will then be moved to SQCC.

“This conversion means that overcrowding in the women’s prison system, which is presently at 152 per cent across the state will be resolved for a number of years,” Minister Ryan said.

“Women prisoners will receive better access to health care, education and vocational training, and our officers will no longer be dealing with the safety challenges posed by operating in overcrowded female facilities,” Minister Ryan said.

ENDS

Media contacts:

Phil Willmington 0411 535 180